Ocean Air
by That Girl55
Summary: Laddie takes a liking to Adeline one night at the boardwalk, and decides he wants her-not for dinner, but as his mother. Which only makes things much more complicated.
1. Chapter 1

The four boys watched as Laddie wandered down the boardwalk after a girl. Three of them turned with a laugh, ignoring it, saying that they'd come find him after, when they were done. One of them, a tall, dark man, ignored the rest of them, and instead followed the boy through the crowd. He was used to having Star watch Laddie while they fed, but she ran off a long time ago with another half-vampire named Michael.

"Aren't you a little young to be chasing after girls, Laddie?" He asked, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. He was shrugged off, and Laddie continued after the girl.

"But I like her."

"Yeah, she's a pretty thing, but she's too old for you, bud." He watched as the girl ran to meet up with some of her friends. "How about you come get something to eat with the rest of us, okay?"

"Dwayne!" The boy complained, stomping his foot down. "I want her."

"To eat?" Dwayne said, surprise on his face. Normally Laddie was a calm little vampire, he didn't like to fight, didn't like the chase. He let David and Dwayne and the rest of the boys pick his meals, maybe even kill them for him before he bit into them. David complained they babied the kid, but he was just a child, one who still saw things in black and white, wrong and right.

"No!" Laddie said. "I want her as my mother."

"Laddie, you can't just-"

"Well then, you better go talk to her, Buddy." David said, coming up and clapping Laddie on the back. "I say we're a bit overdue for another female in the group, huh boys?"

"No," Dwayne said, standing firm, holding Laddie back. He didn't want another one, not like her. She was so much like Star, and the last thing Dwayne wanted was to see Laddie hurt like that again.

"Sorry, bud." Paul said. "Dwayne gets the last say when it comes to you, it's always been that way."

Laddie sighed, grudgingly taking Dwayne's hand as David led them away from the boardwalk, hopefully to find dinner.

Dwayne stole one last look back at the girl, wondering why Laddie had chosen her. She was beautiful, yes, with her long ringlets of back hair and skin that just barely had a tan to it. She was in cutoffs and a loose t-shirt, with what looked like a bathing suit underneath.

Looking down, he saw Laddie staring at the girl too.

"Forget it, Laddie." Marko said. "You remember what happened last time."

Dwayne gave him a look for bringing up Star around the boy, but he only shrugged. Star was like his sister, and Laddie didn't want another sister. Sisters could leave, but mothers (good mothers, not ones like his) wouldn't leave.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N-I'm using the European and American pronunciation of these interchangeably, so here's how I pronounce the character's names: Adeline's nickname 'Line' is pronounced like Lene, her real name is pronounced as Ad-e-line. Her sister Emmileen is pronounced like Em-il-leen**

* * *

"Line!" Emmileen called, her fake diamond glimmering in the moonlight. "Are you coming or what?"

Adeline sighed, and turned towards her older sister. This was her last day with Emmileen, before the twenty-one year old left for Vegas with her boyfriend, Tommy. Tommy worked on cars with his brothers just outside of Las Vegas, and, against her parent's wishes, Emmileen was leaving her eighteen-year-old sister in Santa Carla to fend for herself. The two had been living together in Santa Carla since Emmileen moved here at eighteen, and Adeline decided she couldn't stand her overbearing, lawyer parents any longer. Both sisters were waitresses at the local sports bar, but they managed to get off on this Summer Friday night to be together on the boardwalk one last time.

Adeline was staring at a little boy with wide eyes, eyes that seemed to be calling to her. He was with another man, who was probably his big brother but could have been his dad, the way things are these days, and a big group of guys. They all looked dangerous, hell, even the little boy did. But he wanted her, he was calling to her. Maybe he had been abducted or something, and was begging her to call the cops-how should she know? Was she going to be one of those people who goes home tonight and sees his face on the news, realizing that he could be dead now, and she could have saved him?

Adeline shook her head, she always overthought things.

"Line, what's wrong?" Emmileen grabbed her forearms firmly, looking her in the eyes.

"Nothing!" Adeline shrugged, not sure how to explain. "It's just...I'm going to miss you a lot, Em. You're my only friend here."

"Oh, baby!" Emmileen hugged her. "I'm just a phone call away. Now, let's go have fun."

Adeline nodded, grabbing her sister's hand and running towards the roller coaster.

They rode almost everything on the boardwalk by midnight, and headed back to their apartment just as everything was starting to close down.

"You girls sure you don't want to stick around?" The group of boys that had ridden with them on the last ride asked. "This place gets a lot more lively after dark."

They winked, making Emmileen walk a bit faster.

"Maybe next time," Adeline said, giving them a smile and blowing them a kiss before the two girls hurried off.

"Line!" Emmileen scolded her. "Don't make me worry about leaving you here on your own, they were huge! They could have raped you or something."

"Oh Em! We were just having fun. I'm a big girl, you don't have to worry about me."

"Eighteen's not so big, baby sis." Emmileen said, sinking down onto the couch. "You'll realize that someday."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N-If you want a visual of Adeline, she looks exactly like Lana Del Rey in her Ride music video, except not as tan. xx.**

* * *

"Hm?" Adeline said, shaking herself conscious.

"It's just me. Tommy's waiting out front with the car, I wanted to say goodbye." Emmileen leaned down, kissing her sister on the cheek.

"Call me when you get there, alright?" Adeline said, suddenly awake.

"Of course. You take care of yourself."

"You too."

And both girls were crying slightly as Emmileen walked out the door. When Adeline heard the front door shut, she laid down in bed again, crying harder than before.

"Hey! Shut the hell up, it's five in the morning, fucktard!" Her neighbor screamed, banging on the wall.

With a sigh, Adeline got up for the day, knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep anymore.

* * *

It was a Saturday, and Adeline was working from noon to midnight, thanks to taking last night off. Her boss wasn't exactly fair when it came to Adeline and her sister, he claimed that they were so pretty they brought in more business just working there, but the pay was good and now that Adeline was on her own she needed the money.

She quickly put on their uniform, a black and white fitted referee shirt and her light wash cutoff shorts. Normally Emmileen did her hair, taming her unruly curls for her when she went to work, but today Adeline would have to do it herself. She flipped her head upside down, trying desperately to gather all her locks into one high ponytail; finally, she got it. It didn't look as good as when Emmileen did it, but it was still acceptable. Adeline put on a pair of black and white Reeboks, and then she was off.

* * *

That night at the boardwalk, Laddie saw her again. She was sitting on a bench eating a sandwich, her leg jumping up and down nervously.

"Dwayne," Laddie said, pointing her out again. "There she is again."

Dwayne sighed, hoping the girl wouldn't be here tonight. He didn't want to see Laddie hurt, that was obvious...but he also didn't want to see her get involved with him, to watch her fall like Star had. Of course, he didn't' want Laddie seeing that either.

He was about to lean down and tell Laddie to forget it, but the boy was no longer beside him.

* * *

"Whatcha eatin'?" A little boy said, sitting on the bench beside Adeline.

"Ham and cheese, you want half?" Adeline was relieved to see it was the boy from last night, so that she at least knew he wasn't a missing child.

He nodded, and she gave him the half of the sandwich she had yet to eat.

"What are you doing on the boardwalk by yourself?" She asked him, watching him eat the sandwich slowly, calculatingly.

"I'm not by myself, I'm with Dwayne." He said. "He was beside me, but I came over to talk to you."

"Hm, well once you're done your sandwich we'll go find him, alright? I have to get back to work soon, I'm only on my lunch break."

"Lunch? But it's eight o'clock at night!"

"Busy lunch hour at the restaurant." Adeline laughed. "Well, are you finished?"

Laddie nodded, standing up and taking her hand.

"What's your name?" She asked him.

"Laddie, what's your's?"

She thought about what a peculiar name that was for a moment, how outdated and odd it seemed. But then again, her and Emmileen's names were considered odd too, most of the time.

"Adeline, but everybody calls be Line."

"That's a pretty name." Laddie said. He suddenly got excited, pulling her hand and running off towards a tall man facing the beach.

"Dwayne!" Laddie launched himself into the man's arms. "This is my new friend."

"I'm Adeline, but you can call me Line. Laddie here," She smiled at him teasingly. "Decided to come and eat lunch with me."

"Lunch at eight o'clock?" Dwayne raised an eyebrow, supporting Laddie with one arm as he shook Adeline's hand.

"It was a busy day at the restaurant." Laddie answered for her with a toothy smile, making everyone laugh.

"Speaking of the restaurant, I have to get back." Adeline said, not really wanting to leave the two boys.

Adeline's eyes widened as she saw the boys from last night round the corner, staring straight at her. They looked even larger in this lighting, their catcalls even more menacing.

Dwayne caught her look, and turned around to see the boys behind him. They were like the next generation of surf-nazis, and, if possible, they were even worse.

He let out a low growl before he could help it, making Laddie look up at him questioningly. Luckily, Adeline hadn't heard it, she was too focused on calculating how quickly she could get back to the bar.

"We'll walk you." Dwayne said quickly, setting down Laddie.

The boy came and stood between them, grabbing both their hands and swinging them as they walked down the crowded boardwalk.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N-A little late in the story for this, but this takes place in present day. xx. **

* * *

"So what do you think, Dwayne, don't you like her?" Laddie asked after they had dropped Adeline off at the bar.

"Yeah, I do, Laddie." Dwayne smiled at the boy.

"Can I see her again?" Laddie asked, his smile wide.

"I'm not stopping you." Dwayne smiled. "Now c'mon, let's go feed."

* * *

When Adeline got off work later on, she couldn't get the little boy or Dwayne out of her mind. Would she ever see them again? They looked so nice, and were so kind to her, it was hard for her to imagine them as dangerous, like she had last night.

It was even harder when she walked out of the bar to find Dwayne leaning against the railing of the boardwalk, waiting for her.

"Laddie had to go to bed, but I wanted to make sure you didn't have any trouble like earlier." He said, nodding his head. When the kid wasn't around, he was actually a quiet guy. He had even more of a dangerous persona, more of a troubled look to him. He was scarier, more intimidating.

"That's really sweet of you, thanks." She told him, smiling as she pulled her jacket tighter around her. It may have been June, but it cold cold near the water at night.

Dwayne looked down at himself, wanting to offer her his warm leather jacket (vampires didn't really get cold easily, you know) but he remembered he was completely shirtless underneath. Better to come off as ungentlemanly than to make her uncomfortable, he thought.

"Do you usually walk home alone?" Dwayne asked, concerned.

"Well, actually my sister used to work here, at the bar, with me. We'd get the same shifts and stuff, make sure to have lunch together...we made it fun to work here, basically. But she's engaged, she just left for Las Vegas with her fiance, Tommy, this morning. He works down there."

"So you're all alone now?" Dwayne said, suddenly realizing how creepy that must sound. He wasn't quite as smooth as Paul, despite having way more practice. "That must suck."

"Yeah, it kind of does, but at the same time I'd be on my own eventually anyways, right? Emmileen couldn't be my roommate forever." Adeline shrugged. "I don't mean to pry, but what's your relation to Laddie, anyways? I've seen you all around before, you, him, and a big group of guys."

"Scary looking guys, right?" Dwayne laughed. "They're not as bad as they look, I promise. They're all my friends, we live together. As for Laddie...well, he's a little brother to one of our older friends. She found a guy, kind of like your sister did, and left him in our care."

It was partially true, Star had found Laddie. He was her neighbor, she babysat him sometimes when his mom would get too drunk, or his dad would get mad. Whenever something went wrong in Laddie's house, it was Star who took him in. When she moved in with us, she begged David to change Laddie too, to help him get away from his parents. He said yes, only telling her the truth about what she had become, what she had made Laddie into, later.

"Wow," I said. "That sucks."

"Laddie took it pretty hard," Dwayne admitted.

"Yeah, but not just for Laddie, for you and the other guys as well. Like one second you're all just mostly-teenage guys having fun, and the next you have a kid to worry about, to take care of."

"It wasn't all bad. Star, that's his sister, she was pretty irresponsible to begin with, she'd leave him with us a lot and run off on her own. By the time she left for good, we were used to having the little tyke around."

Dwayne had a small smile on his face whenever he talked about Laddie, it made Adeline smile as well. They were so cute together, more like father and son than anything else.

"What about you?" Dwayne added quickly. "How'd you wind up in Santa Carla?"

"Emmileen and me, we're originally from Seattle, Oregon. My grandfather lived down here, and when he died a few years ago he left us the house. My parents are both lawyers, and wanted nothing to do with it. They sent Emmileen, who was eighteen at the time, down here to sell it. She did, but she fell in love with this place. She announced she was staying here, getting a job and an apartment, and I begged to come with her. I was only fifteen, but she agreed, and my parents figured there was no way to stop me." Adeline shrugged, looking in front of them. "That's my building."

She left it hanging, thinking a guy like Dwayne would invite himself up if he wanted to. Surprisingly, he didn't.

"Laddie loves you, by the way, Line. He wants to see you again tomorrow night."

"That's perfect, I get off work at eight, will that work?" Adeline said, excited that the boy was as taken with her as she was with him.

"Yeah. Well, I'll let you get home then."

"Thank you, Dwayne, for walking me home."

"Of course, anytime." His mysteriousness returned, and he gave her another quiet nod before turning and walking towards the beach.

* * *

He hid under the docks until he saw her shut her apartment door, and then let himself lose.

Dwayne couldn't stop thinking about her all night, and he neglected to feed. Adeline was a beautiful girl, and her blood was calling to him-he wanted it more than he wanted anything. Well, almost anything, because he wanted her home safe more, so he had to walk her all the way to her building.

He quickly came across a bonfire, and made a quick meal of the horny, overexcited teenagers before heading back to the cave with the other boys, and telling them about Adeline and Laddie.


	5. Chapter 5

The next night Dwayne was waiting for her the same place he was the night before, but this time he had Laddie with him.

"Line!" Laddie shouted, running at her and practically knocking her down as he hugged her. "I want to ride the roller coaster with you, and play the balloon game, and eat cotton candy, and-"

"Give her a chance to breath, Laddie." Dwayne said, suddenly appearing beside the two.

"How about we start with..." She said, leaving the blank for one of the two boys to fill in.

"COTTON CANDY!" Laddie shouted, grabbing Adeline's hand and pulling her quickly over to the cotton candy stand-Adeline was grateful she was still in the sneakers from her work uniform, but she had changed into a Grateful Dead crop top along with it.

Dwayne laughed at them, coming up behind them in line.

"My treat," he said, looking down at Adeline, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously? Dwayne, no way." She started to pull out her own money, but Dwayne handed his five dollar bill to the love struck cashier before Adeline could react.

"Chivalry isn't dead," The pubescent teenager said with a dazed smile, handing Laddie his cotton candy.

"You don't want anything?" Dwayne looked at Adeline.

"No thanks, too much sugar. It makes me sick." She said, keeping a tight hold on Laddie's hand while they walked towards a bench. Adeline was obviously worried she would lose him in the crowds, but Dwayne laughed at that-that kid wouldn't let Adeline go if she begged him.

Dwayne sat down on the picnic table, putting his feet on the bench, and Laddie did the same. Adeline, seeing as there was no more room on top of the table, sat by their feet.

"Line," Laddie asked. "Instead of riding the roller coaster, can I show you my family?"

"Um, if it's okay with Dwayne." Adeline said, biting her lip. From what Dwayne had told her, she wasn't sure he'd want Laddie getting too attached to her, after what Star did.

"It's fine with me." Dwayne said, smiling down at Adeline to reassure her. She was one of those people who over thought things sometimes, he could tell. "After you finish your cotton candy, okay bud?"

Laddie smiled, standing up and throwing the rest of it out.

"Now can she go meet everybody?"

"Sure," Dwayne laughed, taking one of Laddie's hands, and Adeline took the other. They'd lift him up off the ground occasionally, swinging him as they walked across the beach, towards the sand dunes.


	6. Chapter 6

"This is so cool!" Adeline said happily as she entered what was left of the sunken hotel. "Seriously guys, this is beautiful. I can't believe you live here."

Dwayne smiled at her as she poked around the house, Laddie glued to her side.

"Line!" Laddie said. "Come see my room."

"Okay, okay, lead the way." She smiled at him, and he took her hand, pulling her towards the inner caves.

"She's nice." Marko said.

"And hot-nice pick Dwayne." Paul added.

"We're not changing her." Dwayne said, his words firm, unmovable. "Not yet."

"Dwayne, are you getting soft on us?" David said, challenging the man.

"Guys!" Adeline yelled, interrupting just in time. "I know I've said it like a billion times, but this is amazing. How'd you find this place, Laddie doesn't remember?"

"David stumbled across it one day, after his folks kicked him out." Dwayne said, leaving out the part where David's parents caught him feeding off the family's maid.

"They thought I was the devil," David snickered.

"My parents thought pretty much the same of me by the time I left." Adeline said, trying to fit in with the group. Her parents were lawyers who had the power to talk Adeline out of pretty much any situation, it would be unnatural if she hadn't tested the boundaries with shoplifting, drugs, alcohol and parties. They were glad to get Adeline off their hands, even if it would mean her moving in with her only slightly more responsible older sister.

"Oh really?" David said, suddenly interested. He jumped up, making his way towards a side table.

"No!" Laddie shouted, jumping in front of Adeline. There was a pause, a moment of glaring between the group, until Dwayne stepped in front of Laddie.

"She doesn't know, David."

"Star didn't know either."

"And Star didn't stick around for long, now did she?"

"So you want her around then, do you Dwayne?" David grinned, looking between Dwayne and Adeline.

"I don't want her harmed."

"Aw, don't you remember Dwaynie, it doesn't hurt. Not one bit." David smiled, taking a bottle of wine off a nearby table.

"Stop it!" Laddie said, turning and wrapping his arms around Adeline's waist, burying his head in her stomach.

"We're not doing this, David." Dwayne said. "And that is final."

"I respect that, for now. It'll be done eventually, and you know it."

And with that, Dwayne took Adeline around the waist and led her out of the cave, Laddie trailing behind.

"What was that all about?" Adeline asked, trying to appear calm. She didn't want to make Dwayne feel bad, and she didn't want to alarm Laddie-who was still having a hard time letting go of her.

"They want to make you like us." Laddie said.

"What?" Adeline's eyebrows furrowed.

"Laddie, go back inside, okay?" Dwayne crouched down to the boy's level. "I need to talk to Line alone."

Laddie nodded, and Adeline gave his hand one last squeeze before he went back inside the cave.

"What do you know about vampires, Adeline?"

"Oh god." She swallowed. "This is insane, about as crazy as those Frog brothers I used to go to school with!"

"There are still Frogs in Santa Carla?" Dwayne said, amused. "I didn't know they had kids."

Adeline stood there, mouth agape, not comprehending what he was telling her at all.

"Sorry. Look, Adeline, we're vampires, all of us."

"Even Laddie?" Dwayne nodded.

Adeline closed her eyes, not wanting to imagine the sweet little boy who held her so close earlier transforming into a monster, see him biting the necks of others, hurting them, killing them. She didn't want to imagine Dwayne doing that either, not the man who had so kindly waited for her after work, who walked her home to make sure she was alright.

"We don't want to hurt you, Adeline. Laddie...he likes you, he likes you a lot. And I really like you too, Line. But David, he doesn't like outsiders, he doesn't like humans. He sees them as a liability, as fragile. He's so eager to turn you because he's nervous for Laddie and me, scared that you'll get mugged one night or get in a car accident and be...be ripped away from us, just like that. That's why he wants to turn you, he thinks you'll be safer that way, love." Dwayne said, caressing her cheek with his hand.

"What's with everyone trying to protect me around here, anyways? I'm a big girl." Adeline said, thinking back to the night she said those words to her sister-not so long ago, when she really thought about it...so then why hadn't Adeline gotten a phone call yet?

"You're not as big as you like to think, Line." Dwayne laughed. And with that, he leaned down, towering over her and pressing her back into the sand dunes, and pressed their lips together.


	7. Chapter 7

Adeline woke up in an unfamiliar bed the following morning, her tiny body trapped beneath strong arms. Looking around, she realized she had fallen asleep in the cave last night, in the bed in Laddie's room. The boy was, in fact, sleeping beside her, his face buried into her neck. Dwayne was behind her, his arms keeping her body close to his, even in sleep. There was no sunlight in the room, so Adeline had no idea what time it was.

She did know, however, that there was a good chance she'd be late for work.

Wiggling out from between the two boys successfully, she grabbed her sneakers and tip toed out of the cave, thankful she had left her work shirt in her locker at the bar last night. Jogging across the sand barefoot, she finally made it to the boardwalk just a few minutes before her shift would begin.

"Adeline!" Jim, her boss, yelled to her. "Why are you so late, and not dressed?"

"I was out late last night, and overslept. My shirt's in my locker, I'll go get changed now."

Jim stuck his finger in her face. "Don't do it again."

"I don't plan on it." She swallowed, he always made her nervous.

Remembering what happened last night, Adeline thought that after her shift ended at three, she should go back to the apartment to shower, and call her sister. It was weird that Emmileen hadn't called yet, she hadn't even left Adeline alone before, and now she was in Vegas for three, four days and hadn't even called to say she was there? That was weird.

But then Jim called her again and, with a sigh, she put a smile on her face and continued over to table 23.

* * *

She had only been away for a night, but it seemed like everything had changed. Life was dull to her, even her apartment smelled stale and boring. There were real life vampires out there-and she had kissed one last night. She had been in a hundred-year-old sunken hotel, and practically adopted a kid.

I mean, it did make a little bit of sense that her life before Dwayne and Laddie seemed a bit boring.

Adeline finished her shower, and changed into high waist cutoff shorts, a peach colored tank top and white Keds. The light color scheme showed off what little tan she had. Her head was hurting from having her hair put up and down so much, so she decided to have it dry naturally today. Adeline even applied a little makeup before realizing that she was doing all this to avoid making the phone call, so she finally put down the mascara brush and picked up her phone.

First, she dialed Tommy's mechanic store.

"Hello, Brother's Cars, how may we help you?" An unfamiliar voice answered the phone.

"Hi, my name is Adeline, I'm looking for Emmileen, she should be Tommy's fiance."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Adeline, but I don't know of any Emmileen. There's no Tommy here, either."

"Okay, well thank you anyways."

Something was very wrong, Adeline could feel it.

She tried the numbers on the fridge-Emmileen's cell, Tommy's cell, the number of the house they were supposed to be renting, but everyone who picked up knew nothing about Emmileen or Tommy.

Finally, she had no choice but to call her parents.

"Hello?"

"Emmileen?" Adeline was shocked when her sister picked up the phone at her parent's house. Wasn't she supposed to be in Vegas, with Tommy? Not Seattle, with their parents! "What happened? Why are you with Mom and Dad?"

"Adeline," this time, it was her mother's voice on the line. "Emmileen is our smart daughter, obviously."

"What?"

"Didn't you ever wonder why you had never met Tommy, why he only existed in your sister's stories? Didn't you see how sad Emmileen was at the news of your father's illness?"

"Dad got better!" Adeline tried to defend herself.

"But he got worse again."

"No one told me this." Adeline said, biting her lip.

"Your sister has returned home, and wishes to continue where she left off, you see. She'll be attending Harvard in the fall, hopefully meeting some eligible bachelor-preferably with a better name than Tommy." Adeline's mother snickered. "She's given up on Santa Carla, and her meaningless life there. She's given up on you, Adeline, unless you return home with her."

"No," Adeline said, thinking of Dwayne and Laddie, of all the new people she'd met since Emmileen left.

"I'm sorry, Line." Emmileen's voice came over the phone again. "But you couldn't see I was unhappy there. I wanted something more than a job in a bar, more than a badly furnished apartment, and I didn't know how to tell you."

"So you betrayed me instead? Kept from me that Dad was sick again, lied about Tommy?"

"I didn't know how else to do it." Emmileen confessed.

"Well you're going to be a terrific lawyer then, Emmileen, you've already got the lying down."

Adeline hung up the phone, and threw herself onto the bed. Her own sister was a traiter, Emmileen had sold her out, had gone home to their parents and left her to fend for herself.

Suddenly, Adeline sat up, picking up the phone and dialing the sports bar.

Fend for herself she would.


	8. Chapter 8

"I want you to turn me."

"What?" Dwayne said, staring at Adeline as if she was insane.

"I've got nothing left. Emmileen moved back in with our parents, she lied about everything. I don't have a job anymore, I quit, and in a few weeks I won't have an apartment either. I don't want anything tying me to her, and the only way I can do that is if you put your blood into my veins, if you make me more of you than I am of her." Her voice was strong, but her eyes were filling with tears.

"Adeline, you don't understand what we are, what we do. We're monsters, don't you know that? If you do this, I don't want it to be out of anger and betrayal."

"No Dwayne, I want you to do it." She said, pressing her body up against his. "Please!"

"I said no, Adeline." Dwayne swallowed, walking into the cave before even midnight, and leaving Adeline alone outside with her tears.

Soon enough Laddie came out, looking for her.

"Line, do you want to-"

"Not right now, Laddie. Why don't you go see if one of the other boys will keep you company, and we can do something in a little bit."

"But Line..."

"Okay," Adeline said, willing her tears back into her eyes and standing up with a smile. "Where do you want to go, love?"

"I want more cotton candy."

"I figured you would."

* * *

"She begged to be turned, and you told her no?" Marko shook his head at Dwayne. "You're crazy, man. You should have made her one of us, it would have made all of this so much easier."

"No, Dwayne was right to tell her no." David said calculatingly. "She doesn't want to be one of us, she's upset and sad over her sister. Give her time, and she'll come to her senses."

"Thank you, David." Dwayne said, giving their leader a smile.

"Now, go find that girl before you lose her for good." Paul said jokingly, laughing at himself.

* * *

They were on the same table as last night, Adeline sitting on the table, her legs crossed and leaning back on her arms as she looked up at the night sky. Laddie was beside her, shoving the cotton candy in his mouth as quickly as he could, and leaning against Adeline. It gave her some sort of comfort to know he was there, and every once in a while she'd run her hand through his hair or smile down at him.

It was easy to watch them, they were definitely the most beautiful people on the boardwalk. Laddie's boyish looks drew the attention of every wishful mother, every hopeless romantic ten-year-old. Adeline was eye catching on her own, with her loose, dark hair and her paler-than-the-usual skin, she stuck out at the beach. Every pubescent boy glanced at her on their way by, and even a few older husbands were caught staring.

Dwayne walked over to them, the third and final piece to their puzzle.

"Hey," he said, and Laddie looked at him excited, jumping into Dwayne's arms to hug him, as if he hadn't seen him in months instead of just hours.

"Hi," Adeline said, the air thick with tension. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said. You were right."

"I was right?" Dwayne said, surprised that she had admitted it so easily. Adeline walked over to the boys, grabbing Laddie's hand and looking upwards to see into Dwayne's eyes.

"I mean, I want to be turned eventually, you know that, but I won't do it out of spite for my sister. This is a lifetime thing, you know." She said, testing the waters with him, seeing if the thought of spending forever with her scared him in the slightest.

"Of course it is." He leaned down to kiss her, and Laddie emitted a chorus of 'ew!"'s while everyone on the boardwalk turned to look at them. Together, the three of them were breathtaking.


	9. Chapter 9

Adeline had been with the Lost Boys nearly three months, and she had yet to be turned. She was living with them in the cave, sleeping with one of their members, and taking care of the young boy they viewed as their little brother. Everything seemed so perfect, and even when Adeline had lost everything, they helped her fall on her feet. They were the only family she had left, her only true family.

The family inside the family, however, was Dwayne, her, and Laddie. They'd walk the boardwalk at night, Dwayne's eyes never leaving the beautiful, dark haired girl and Adeline's never leaving Laddie. Laddie still seemed infatuated with the two of them, the woman who had become his mother and the only real father he had known for a long time.

Dwayne and Laddie would feed earlier on in the morning hours, keeping an eye on Adeline all other times of the night. She was still human, and humans, Laddie had learned, were fragile. His new mother could be gone in minutes, if he wasn't watching-that's what David had told him. And Dwayne trusted Laddie to watch over the girl when he couldn't, to keep an eye on her when the need for blood got too strong for the man to bear.

For the longest time, the three of them were happy together. That is, until she came into their lives.

Laddie found her under the boardwalk, a girl of fifteen, who did not look fifteen. She was cold, her wet, blonde hair plastered to her pale face. The sun had tanned her, as it seemed, but many nights spent on the sand under the boardwalk had worn her down. It was a wonder that the Lost Boys hadn't discovered her already, hadn't seen her with her backpack stuffed under her head, practically using the sand as a blanket and sleeping with her boots on.

Laddie brought her to Adeline, and Adeline brought her home.

"What were you thinking, Line?" Dwayne said, looking back at forth between the two girls, and the little boy that stood in between them. "She's just a kid."

"But she needs our help." Adeline defended herself. "Look at her, she hasn't eaten for days. She was sleeping under the boardwalk, Dwayne, do you have any idea how desperate she must be? We can't turn her away."

And, as the couple argued, David walked up to the girl.

"What's your name?" He asked her, looking up and down the thin girl being supported by the much younger boy.

"Callie." She answered him.

* * *

**I'm sorry for the wait, but I had a really hard time writing this chapter. I'm planning on this being the end of the story, but I may continue from here on with a Callie and David love story,with little snipits of Dwayne, Adeline, and Laddie placed in there. But if I don't, then thank you for reading and I hoped you all enjoyed reading this story! xx. **


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